DEI GRECI: Prologue

Prologue

THE DENCARA STORY

The First Dencara WAAAGH!
(Updated: 28-June-16)

Regrouped Chapters

Prologue

“Sir!”

The operator’s eyes remained on the screen while he raised his voice and attempted to get the attention of his supervising officer. When the Lieutenant didn’t react the Ensign called again.

“Sir, can you check this please?” and waved his hand.

With a frown the officer joined the operator and looked over his shoulder.

“What is it, Kransk?”

“Sir, we picked up a group of objects entering the system.”

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow.

“That’s nothing out of the ordinary, is it? Most likely Number 4 pulling strings.”

“Ah, no Sir. It’s not the gas giant’s gravitation.”

The officer, who had just started to move back to his desk, stopped and turned around.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we monitored the group since it came into sensor range, and normally it would’ve passed the Dencara system completely, but about 5 minutes ago they changed course and entered the system.”

Ensign Kransk now had Lieutenant Kriss’ undivided attention. .

“They changed course?”

Kransk pressed a few buttons and the screen now showed a replay of the sensor data.

“Yes, normal trajectory would’ve continued along this line.”

His fingers indicated a green line on the screen.

“But the whole group diverged and their course is now heading straight into the system.”

The display now showed an additional red line.

While Lieutenant Kriss considered this with a frown Kransk added.

“In addition they kind of kept formation.”

With his fingers he indicated quotes for the last word and continued.

“Not in a military sense, but all 10 objects altered course pretty much at the same time and are now heading the same way.”

Kriss straightened up.

“Where will their new course get them to?”

“If they keep course they will simply pass through the system, without crossing the orbit of any planet or moon, Sir.”

Lieutenant Kriss looked at Ensign Kransk and asked:

“But you don’t think so?”

Kransk bit his lower lip, took a deep breath and then replied:

“Sir, I don’t think these are simply a bunch of asteroids being pulled into the system by gravity. I have the suspicion there is more in this than meets the eye.”

He pressed some buttons again, and the display now showed the real time data. The group of objects was clearly visible and the computer projected a calculated course through the Dencara solar system.

At their current course and speed the group would pass by Dencara 8, the small piece of rock, hardly qualifying as a planet, on which the Imperial sensor and observation post was located. It would also pass all other 7 planets and moons of the Dencara system. Most importantly it would neither cross the orbit of Dencara 6, an agricultural world on which most of the food for the entire system was produced, nor would it cross paths with Dencara 5.

Dencara 5, the primary planet with its space port, the mining and processing plants and the mostly underground metropolis and capitol Xanthium.

“Please transfer it to the main screen.”

Lieutenant Kriss turned around and pointed to the main display screen that dominated the wall across from the operating stations.

Immediately the situation was displayed on the main screen and all operators were able to follow the progress of the group of objects.

“Do we have any scans or visuals?” Lieutenant Kriss asked.

Another set of data was displayed on a secondary screen besides the huge master screen.

“Initial scans didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. Lots of rock, stone, some metallic elements, some carbonates. The usual mix.”

The image on the main display changed as Ensign Kransk switched to real time footage.

“This is what our cameras are picking up.”

The footage was grainy and dim, but the group of dark, irregularly shaped objects was well visible. They really looked like a bunch of, admittedly huge, rocks and asteroids.

A soft sound chimed on one of the servitor’s consoles and the operator checked his instruments. Despite being mechanically augmented and having much of his human features replaced by bionic devices his voice carried a distinct note of alarm when he spoke.

“Ah Sir! Sir! I’m getting some curious emissions from the main object.”

He checked his console again.

“I think we’re being scanned!”

Lieutenant Kriss pointed to the operator and then to the main display. The servitor transferred his instrument readouts to the main screen and all were able to evaluate the data their selves.

Several spikes and burst of energy became visible and numerous warning lights flared.

While Lieutenant Kriss was staring at the data and analyzing the situation another cry sounded through the control room.

“Torpedoes! They are firing at us!”

The live footage on the screen showed several fiery objects leaving the main object. The torpedoes traced a tight curve and headed straight for the camera.

It looked as if they were flying directly into the control room.

Lieutenant Kriss turned around, bent over his console and slammed his hand onto the alarm button.

Claxons howled and lights blinked as the battle alarm was triggered.

Being in a far off part of the Segmentum Ultima,Dencara had always been a quiet system. Many in the Imperium have never heard of it. It was so insignificant that it was even Adeptus Non – it didn’t have to pay any tributes to the Emperor.

The Dencara system had a rather unusual composition and planetary arrangement, with the gas giant Dencara 4 in close proximity to Dencara 5’s orbit, which constantly pulled asteroids into the planet’s path, thus delivering many precious ores and rare elements via an almost constant orbital bombardment. These ores and elements allowed the Dencarian refining facilities to produce special alloys and materials that were of high demand in many forge worlds. The system was so quiet and peaceful that only a handful of Adeptus Arbites units and a few regiments of local Planetary Defense Forces were stationed in the Dencara system.

But since most of the Space Marine forces in the Ultramar Sector were destroyed in the First Tyranid War on Macrage, the trade routes from and to Dencara had been subject to ever more frequent pirate attacks, and a more powerful space fleet had been raised. It was organized around two locally constructed MANTIS cruisers and several COLER-Class destroyers. So far they had been quite capable of dealing with any overzealous pirate.

As the alarm was sounded from Masuruh Station the commander of the Dencarian Space Navy was immediately connected to Lieutenant Kriss on Dencara 8.

“A general alarm? What is going on Lieutenant?!”

The Captain’s face was filling the screen of Kriss’ communication console. And it was not a happy face.

“Sir, we’re under attack!”

Captain Giaroni’s eyebrows drew together.

“We observed a group of objects entering the system. And they have just fired a salvo of torpedoes at us!”

“Torpedoes? What objects? Are you drunk?”

Even though he was displaying anger over the disturbance, Captain Giaroni was concerned enough to signal his second in command to relay the alert and prepare the System’s fleet for immediate action.

“Speak up man! What is going on?”

The Lieutenant on Dencara 8 swallowed and then reported:

“Sir, we have been monitoring a group of 10 objects entering our system. Initially we classified them as large asteroids, but while we examined the data, the objects started to scan us and then they opened fire.”

The Captain turned to his subordinate and gave orders to set course towards the intruders.

“From the profile of the fired weapons we think they are torpedoes…”

He raised his finger toward the officer as an Ensign approached him and showed him some data on a tablet screen. Lieutenant Kriss nodded and then turned back to his communication console.

“Well Sir...”

He swallowed.

“The data indicates … Orks, Sir.”

“ORKS?!?”

Shock, disbelief and fear flitted across the Captains face.

Then his training kicked in.

“Are you and your men safe? Have you raised shields?”

Just as the Lieutenant nodded and opened his mouth to reply the screens flickered. With concern Captain Giaroni watched the young Lieutenant stumble and grab the communication console. The image shook and with a small delay the sound of explosions came through the speakers.

Lieutenant Kriss looked around.

Several operators laid on the ground, others were looking up to the ceiling. More than one computer screen was black. Dust trickled down from the roof. Voices cried out and several others were coughing. But on first glance no one seemed to be hurt seriously. After all, the command center was located in a bunker buried meters under the surface.

Kriss checked the instruments and displays.

“We have lost many sensors and the prime telescope, but I think we’re in good shape Sir.”

Another operator approached Kriss and reported.

Relieved, Kriss relayed the information to Captain Giaroni:

“The shields held and most of the damage was deflected. No breaches in the structures. We have some minor injuries on the upper levels. No fatalities.”

“OK, keep your heads down. Continue reporting the course and progress of the … ships. We’ll intercept.”

With these words the Captain turned on the communication console and headed for the bridge of his flagship.

Lieutenant Kriss kept the communication channel open when he turned back, looking into the command center. Most of the operators were back at their consoles. Two Tech-Priests had entered and were attempting to regain control of some of the failed systems. One of the mechanically augmented Servitors laid on its side, sparks showering from its shorted implants.

The first Tech-Priests turned to him, but before he could do anything the servitor burst into flames. Another alarm went off, and the cables connecting the doomed servitor to his console were automatically severed, preventing the damage to spread to the precious equipment.

With a resigned sigh the Tech-Priest grabbed an extinguisher and drowned the flames in a thick carpet of foam. It would be a lot of work to clean the bionic parts of the dead creature and get it back into working order.

He waived to a recruit that had just entered the room.

“Pick him up, dispose of the organic material and bring the rest into the workshop.”

The young recruit’s eyes rounded.

“Don’t stare like a cow! Get moving or will you need to receive some upgrades?”

The recruit swallowed and got to work.

In the meantime the other Tech-Priest was able to repair some of the sensors and tapped into another video source. The main display now showed the scene from a different angle and with inferior quality.

Petty Officer Zahan, a lanky young man from the low-gravity world of Tedescum, or Dencara 7, checked his instruments one more time and then spoke over his shoulder.

“They have altered course again!”

Lieutenant Kriss kept his eyes on the main screen, but asked.

“Where are they heading?”

“If they don’t change course or speed, they are heading straight for Dencara 5.”

Several surprised gasps were audible.

“Are you sure?”

The Petty Officer nodded and transferred his instrument data to the main screen. While the video feed was now displayed in a smaller window, the projected course of the group was now clearly visible.

But it also showed the course of the little fleet heading to intercept. The two Cruisers, five Destroyers and accompanying AYUSHI Escorts and ZUMMACH Torpedo Ships were closing in fast. The slow but forbidding weapons platform was lumbering behind. But with its enormous range and destructive power it didn’t need to be any faster – all it needed was a clear line of fire.

All eyes were riveted to the screens as a cloud of smaller objects detached from the Dencarian fleet and rapidly closed the gap to the intruders. Captain Giaroni had launched his first wave of FURY fighters.

“Defensive fire! We’re receiving enemy fire!”

The speakers delivered the voices of the fighter pilots as they engaged the enemy ships.

“These are definitely no asteroids! Lots of laser and stubber fire!”

On the screen the individual fighters were lost compared to the huge hunks of the enemy crafts, but the flashing lights of laser fire and explosions were clearly visible.

“Launch the torpedoes!”

Captain Giaroni’s voice was calm as he gave his orders.

The main display showed a new hail of objects heading towards the Orks.

Reports of casualties were relayed as many of the fighters fell prey to the enemy fire, but so far the Orks hadn’t launched any Interceptors of their own.

After the first strafing run over the Ork ships the fighters pulled up and away in preparation for the torpedoes impacts.

A series of explosions raked over the enemy ships as the first wave of torpedoes reached their targets.

Loud cheers erupted in the control centre, but Lieutenant Kriss didn’t join the celebrations yet.

As the fighters swooped down for a second run they discovered that the torpedoes had hit well, but only managed to blast away the outer layer of rocks.

Again the small Dencarian skirmishers y were greeted by heavy enemy fire and as more and more of the fighters were blown apart huge hangar doors opened and released hundreds of Ork interceptor crafts. Crude machines made of a chaotic hotchpotch of materials, but each armed to the teeth with large calibre canons and powerful lasers.

These KRAVAZ entered the fight right in the backs of the Imperial fighters and immediately wreaked havoc among the defenders. Caught between the defensive fire from the ships and the interceptors’ shooting from behind many of the Imperial FURIES exploded.

Other pilots pulled away trying to escape the firestorm.

At the same time hatches hidden in the surface of the large vessels opened and a volley of Ork torpedoes was launched at the small Dencarian fleet. With the Ork KRAVAZ fighters in their backs the Imperial pilots had no chance to intercept the torpedoes and the fleet had to rely solely on their defensive weapons to stop the incoming missiles.

While the smaller torpedo boats moved into position between the Ork projectiles and their own capital ships, the NEMESIS weapons platform was finally in position to join the fight.

The enormous NOVA Cannon was loaded with a projectile as big as some of the smaller ships. Energy banks were charging up, lining up gravimetric impellers that would accelerate the shell to a fraction of the speed of light and hurl it at the enemy.

One after another the coils were charged up and lights on the bridge of the NEMESIS finally signalled readiness.

The platform commander nodded at the servitor manning the NOVA controls.

“FIRE!”

Despite being in the non-atmospheric voids of space a glowing ball erupted from the rail as the projectile was launched. Its tip glowed as it raced across the distance between the NEMESIS and the most forward Ork ship.

Even while the missile was still in flight crews of slaves manned machinery and cranes to open the breech mechanism of the gun and loading a new shell into it.

The impact of several hundred tons of especially hardened alloys rushing at sub light speed against the Ork vessel released tremendous kinetic energies in a gigantic explosion. The ensuing fireball was spectacular to say the least.

The enemy ship was torn apart and many secondary explosions ripped through the remaining sections, now drifting through space.

Loud cheers erupted again and this time Lieutenant Kriss joined and pumped his fist into the air.

But at the same time the Ork torpedoes reached their first target.

In a valiant effort to protect the bigger craft from the swarm of torpedoes the smaller Imperial ships formed a line and their Close-In Weapon Systems erected a wall of defensive fire. Torpedo after torpedo was blasted apart, but with each torpedo that exploded, another one got closer,

On the left of the line a first ZUMMACH torpedo boat had expended all its ammunition and now relied solely on its void shields.

The first torpedo impacted and the resulting explosion was deflected by the shield, but leaving it so weakened that the next torpedo flew straight through and struck the hull of the hapless ship. Despite the relatively small size of the ship the explosion was dazzling.

Apparently, the Ork commander had decided to fit Plasma warheads in his first wave of torpedoes.

To Captain Giaroni it was clear he had to act fast. His fleet could not withstand another wave. He gave orders to fire the next wave of torpedoes armed with melta warheads and prayed to the Emperor that the NOVA cannon would be ready to fire again in time.

“Aim for the big one! I assume it is a HAMMA class heavy cruiser.”

By now it was clear the Orks had, in an act of absolute ingenuity, covered their ships in a thick layer of rock, giving them the appearance of asteroids. So far no one knew where these Orks came from, which clan they belonged to, nor why they had chosen to invade the Dencara system. But after the impacts of the first Imperial torpedoes the scanners of the Masuruh Station could finally penetrate some of the cloaking and classify the vessels.

Besides being exceedingly heavily armed, the HAMMA cruisers could also act as huge troop transports. If this fleet landed on Dencara 5 and managed to spill its’ thousands of Greenskins, he wasn’t sure the defensive forces on the planet would be able to withstand such an onslaught.

In truth, he was rather sure they would not.

He had to stop the Orks in space – or die trying.

The two Cruisers and five Destroyers fired their full load of torpedoes, just as the Ork projectiles broke through the remnants of the defensive screen.

Almost all of the small vessels were either completely destroyed or drifting away from the carnage without control.

The weapons of the larger ships were not designed to intercept incoming torpedoes. Nevertheless the weapon batteries and lance turrets opened fire. Surprisingly many of the Ork missiles exploded. But it was too little.

The first COLE Destroyer was hit by 6 torpedoes at the same time. The void shields were never designed for such an onslaught and collapsed before diminishing any of the torpedoes forces. Just the power of the blast was enough to break the ships keel. It broke like a child’s toy.

After it had fired its torpedoes and a full broadside of its batteries, Captain Giaroni ordered the MANTIS to come about and meet the incoming projectiles head on. The Cruiser wasn’t the most nimble and agile of ships, but with the gaps the defensive fire had torn into the umbrella of torpedoes, the desperate manoeuvre miraculously succeeded.

Fully aware that this was most likely the last stroke of luck he would ever have in his life he ordered his servitors and tech priests to launch the Cruiser full speed at the Orks. The induction cells whined and the huge thrusters accelerated the ship ever faster.

Explosions all around signalled the destruction of his fleet.

The operators and servitors on Masuruh station had fallen silent. The main display had transmitted the destruction of the Dencarian fleet with merciless clarity. Symbol after symbol vanished on the plotting screen as flash after flash indicated the destruction of another Imperial ship on the video display.

Lieutenant Kriss swallowed hard.

There was nothing he could do. High Command on Dencara 5 was alerted and all defensive forces were moving out. The last defensive weapon stations in orbit were manoeuvring to meet the Ork ships.

His crew was transmitting and relaying all the available information, but it felt like being the hoodoo.

“They are going to ram it!”

The Lieutenant snapped back and checked the screen. Indeed the symbol of the remaining cruiser, the flagship “Lord-General von Hainbuch”, was still moving.

Moving fast. In a straight line at the main Ork ship.

“That’s insane!” yelled Petty Officer Zahan.

Calmly Lieutenant Kriss responded.

“It is the ultimate sacrifice to the Emperor.”

“For the Emperor”

What started as a low whisper by one of the operators was picked up by the others and soon a chant rang out.